GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s third-largest silicon wafer supplier, yesterday reported a net profit of NT$4.46 billion (US$148.7 million) for the first half of this year amid robust wafer demand for 5G-related and automotive chips.
The strong momentum is reflected in record-high prepayments the company received from customers, who signed long-term wafer supply agreements with some stretching to eight or 10 years.
The Hsinchu-based company said prepayments swelled to NT$36 billion as of June 30 after adding NT$3 billion to the pool last quarter alone.
Photo: Chang Hui-wen, Taipei Times
However, net profit tumbled about 33 percent year-on-year from NT$6.65 billion, dragged by market evaluation losses after its proposed takeover of Siltronic AG, in which it holds a 13.67 percent stake, failed through.
Earnings per share tumbled to NT$10.25 during the six-month period, compared with NT$15.27 a year earlier.
Earnings per share would have soared to record-high NT$26.85 during the first half without factoring in the valuation losses, GlobalWafers chairperson Doris Hsu (徐秀蘭) said.
“We are seeing constant and growing demand for 300mm silicon wafers,” Hsu said.
That is despite some customers who have greater exposure to smartphones are going through inventory corrections.
Demand from customers in the high-performance computing and data center sectors remains resilient, the company said.
“No order cutting has been recorded so far, but demand for long-term agreements on 200mm and 300mm wafers is getting a bit lower,” Hsu said.
All 200mm and 300mm fabs are fully loaded, with only a small-diameter fab running at a lower capacity utilization rate of about 80 percent, she said.
The growth momentum would last through next year and 2024, she added.
Equipment lead time has been lengthened to about 30 months to eliminate oversupply concerns next year, Hsu said.
Gross margin last quarter improved to an all-time high of 43.1 percent, from 35.9 percent in the same period last year.
GlobalWafers expects gross margin to stabilize at that level or even rise slightly in the second half.
Revenue expanded 12.8 percent annually to a record NT$33.85 billion during the period.
GlobalWafers said the US$52 billion CHIPS Act would affect its operations in China, as the US would bar chipmakers from investing in 28-nanometer and advanced technologies in China, although it does not apply to the silicon wafer manufacturing sector, Hsu said.
GlobalWafers plans to invest NT$55 billion in a new US fab, with the first-phase capacity to ramp up in 2025.
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